Forced to Act out a Strange Script with a Rival - Chapter 74

As she returned to the familiar planetarium, the salty, damp sea breeze, the smell of charred burning, and the suffocating tension of a life-and-death struggle receded instantly like a tide.

In their place came a sense of profound tranquility and unreality, as if she had just clawed her way out of a bizarre, soul-shaking nightmare.

Li Ting slowly opened her eyes. What met her gaze was the familiar dome simulating the vast galaxy, where countless points of light drifted slowly—silent and deep.

She lay on the soft observation chair. Her body felt no discomfort, yet deep within her consciousness lingered a trace of indescribable exhaustion and… absurdity.

Propping herself up, she looked around, her eyes dazed.

Is it… over? Am I back in the real world?

That “Spring of the Tentacle Monster” script—filled with evil gods, sacrifices, tentacles, despair, and struggle—had actually ended in such a… trivial, anti-climactic way?

Clearly, her last memory remained stuck on the moment she held that incredibly weak pink little octopus—one that looked like it would dissipate at any second. Driven by a mix of despair, unwillingness, and a reckless impulse to just give up, she had lowered her head and gently kissed its cold, slimy little head.

And then?

Then… the torrential rain that seemed ready to drown the world just… stopped without warning?

The dark clouds were swept aside as if by a giant invisible hand. A long-awaited, pale sunlight pierced through, spilling over the ravaged island.

And then… from the distance came the clear, reassuring blast of a coast guard siren. The rescue team had appeared at the exact right moment, like gods descending from heaven!

The evil god’s plan to sacrifice the entire island was thwarted.

Those islanders, who had been controlled by the evil god’s will and plunged into madness, seemed to have their puppet strings cut the moment the rain stopped. The emptiness and frenzy in their eyes vanished, replaced by confusion and bewilderment. They were quickly brought under control by the police landing on the island.

Everything—all the danger—seemed to have vanished into thin air following that impulsive, inexplicable kiss?

What exactly is going on?!!

This story totally flopped at the end! Such a brutal narrative ended in such a purely “rom-com” way?!!

Li Ting felt a surge of powerless frustration at the absurdity of it all.

What is this?

A real-life version of “Beauty and the Beast”?

Or a fairy tale where “True Love’s Kiss breaks every curse”? Saving the world entirely through love, truth, and beauty?!

Where is the logic?! Where is the science?!

But… when she remembered that she was bound to that ridiculous “Erotic R20” system, everything seemed… slightly “reasonable”?

After all, for a system that ran on “skin-to-skin” energy to sustain itself and upgrade scripts, creating a setting where “kissing grants miraculous power” wasn’t entirely far-fetched.

Is it really a Beauty and the Beast script? Does True Love’s Kiss really have the power to dispel all evil?

Thinking back carefully, the signs were there.

From the beginning, simply calling Si Xiaoxiao’s name could wake her from a god-polluted stupor; and then, there was this kiss that directly reversed the situation…

Though the process was so silly it made her want to facepalm, within the context of this system, it formed a loosely self-consistent—albeit ridiculous—chain of logic.

Li Ting rubbed her temples and let out a long, helpless sigh.

Forget it. Trying to argue science and logic with a system that appeared out of nowhere and bound itself to you was a losing game from the start.

Her gaze instinctively turned toward the adjacent star-gazing pod.

Si Xiaoxiao lay there quietly, eyes closed. Her thick lashes cast small shadows beneath her eyes. Her face was still pale, but her breathing was steady and long, as if she had fallen into the deepest sleep—a Sleeping Beauty waiting to be awakened, oblivious to the world.

She hadn’t woken up yet.

In the past, they had always synchronized their awakening. Now, Si Xiaoxiao remained in a deep slumber. Was it because of the many battles she fought in this script?

Li Ting’s heart tightened as a sense of foreboding washed over her.

Despite the absurdity of the process, the images of Si Xiaoxiao struggling, fighting, and even burning her own life to save her flashed repeatedly through her mind.

What a stubborn fool.

But… was every “clutch” save really okay?

Was it just a coincidence, or was there a hidden truth?

Just as Li Ting was overthinking, the system’s electronic voice finally arrived—its tone carrying a hint of… exhaustion and laziness?

[Ding—Congratulations to the Host for successfully completing all main and hidden quests for the “Spring of the Tentacle Monster” dungeon! Plot Completion: S-Class! Emotional Interaction Concentration: Beyond Sweet! Overall Rating: Perfect!]

Eh?

It was rare to hear the system in this state. Was maintaining a script world like that difficult even for the system?

[Now issuing task rewards—]

The system’s voice paused intentionally, as if building suspense.

Li Ting waited quietly, her mind racing.

What would it be?

To be honest, she was curious. The rewards the system had spat out before were things like “Threads of Fate”—supernatural items that purely affected luck. For a world this difficult, the reward should be quite powerful.

[The reward is—Spring!]

The system’s electronic voice announced those words with an exaggerated, rhythmic cadence.

Spring?

Li Ting froze, her brows furrowing slightly.

What kind of reward was that?

Was it a symbolic blessing? Did it refer to the season of the next script? Surely it couldn’t be… literally turning this place into spring? Or perhaps… “spring” in that sense.

However, she didn’t have to guess for long.

The moment the system finished speaking!

Si Xiaoxiao’s quiet body was suddenly enveloped in a soft, brilliant emerald light!

The light wasn’t blinding, but it was filled with an incredibly dense, refreshing aura of life!

This is “Spring”?!

Startled, Li Ting stood up abruptly, instinctively wanting to move forward.

She watched as the emerald light, like living water, quickly wrapped around Si Xiaoxiao. The girl’s silhouette began to blur and turn transparent within the glow… as if her body was being decomposed and reshaped by this strange energy!

“Si Xiaoxiao!” Li Ting cried out, her heart clutching!

What was the system doing now?! Just as she thought! It wasn’t that simple!

Maybe her part was done, but there was still a problem on Si Xiaoxiao’s end!!

The light lasted for a few seconds before receding and condensing rapidly like a low tide…

The emerald glow finally transformed into a seed—no larger than a fingernail, perfectly round, and radiating a soft shimmer of vitality.

Huh? A whole person turned into… a tiny seed like this?

The seed quivered slightly, as if a small heart was beating inside.

Then, it floated slowly toward Li Ting. It descended quietly and slipped into the pocket over her chest, piercing the fabric to take root directly over her heart!

Li Ting held her breath, her eyes fixed on it.

She truly hadn’t expected something this bizarre.

One second… two seconds… a tiny sound, like a chick breaking its shell.

The seed began to warm right over her heart, merging completely into her skin. Then, a green sprout cautiously poked its head out.

The sprout wobbled left and right experimentally. Then, as if drawing enough strength, it began to grow and unfurl at a visible speed…

It grew a slender but resilient stem, sprouting two tiny, jade-like cotyledons. Then, at the tip of the stem, a grain-sized, tightly wrapped bud rapidly formed and swelled.

Under Li Ting’s nearly catatonic gaze, the little bud slowly—as if in slow motion—unfolded layer by layer.

What kind of play is this!! How did this bizarre stuff follow us into reality!

Si Xiaoxiao turned into a flower! A flower growing out of my heart!!

“What kind of reward is this, hey!!!”

Li Ting wanted to grab the system and shake it violently to see what else would fall out!

This was a hundred times more ridiculous than the previous tentacles or octopus forms!

At least those could move! They could fight! What was this? Total “plant-ification”?!

In Beauty and the Beast, the beast eventually turned back into a prince!

In her case, the tentacle monster demoted straight into a delicate flower?!

What kind of brain structure did this system have?!

But… remembering that this was the R20 system that thrived on intimate energy, it seemed… almost logical? After all, its consistent motto was “the more ridiculous, the better; the more suggestive, the better…”

Moreover, it seemed there were signs for this too?

From waking up via her name to gaining miraculous power through a kiss… the operating rule of this system was basically an exaggerated, absurd version of “Love creates miracles.”

Now, transforming the abstract reward of “Spring” into the literal manifestation of “a flower blooming in the heart”… it wasn’t… completely unacceptable?

Li Ting covered her face and let out a very, very deep sigh.

She felt her boundaries lowering one by one; she no longer had the strength to even question it.

[Isn’t keeping the person you love in your pocket perfectly in line with the Host’s twisted and perverted tastes?]

The system spoke nonchalantly, though it sounded a bit weaker than its usual boisterous self.

Li Ting silently protested in her mind… I don’t have those tastes. And besides, isn’t this weird?

“Why did Xiaoxiao become like this?” Li Ting questioned the system.

[Originally, as a trade, she was supposed to die… Thank me for my mercy… I gave her back to you as a reward.]

A trade? Die?!

What did that mean? What kind of trade?

The system’s answer made Li Ting’s heart tremble:

[Because she chose to die for you.]

In truth, kissing the little octopus didn’t bring about a miracle. Si Xiaoxiao did.

And Si Xiaoxiao was Li Ting’s miracle.

They were each other’s miracle.

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